


The Crystal Ball

by bushViperCutie



Series: The Crystal Ball Series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Hogwarts, Loneliness, Love, POV Severus Snape, Reader-Insert, Soulmates, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24318262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bushViperCutie/pseuds/bushViperCutie
Summary: Dilyn Grisial, a renowned match-maker, promises a teenage Severus Snape and his classmates a chance at finding their soulmate. Severus struggles with the possibility he may not even have one especially after it’s been years since he first tried reaching them.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Reader, Severus Snape/You
Series: The Crystal Ball Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2135451
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	The Crystal Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Snape x fem!reader
> 
> Word Count: 4,482
> 
> Rating: T for Teen
> 
> Warnings: Self hate, crying, momentary bad attitude 
> 
> A/N: Special thanks to @wow-life-love4 for sending in this request! I hope this is as cute as the soulmates au tiktok you sent and that i turned it wizard-y enough! :D (Sev’s point of view tho)
> 
> Originally Posted: 4/6/20 on tumblr @bush-viper-cutie

****

# ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

****

If there was a month Severus hated more than January, it was February. The Great Hall was decorated from the high rising ceiling to the hard stone floor in floral patterns and soft colors. Large pink satin ribbons hung from the ceiling and dangled overhead above every table.

The stained glass windows behind and above the High Table had been charmed to let in light of every shade of pink, red, and lavender. Even the plates and goblets that were normally golden all over had been replaced by identical ones except for the red engravings of roses with thorny stems around the rims.

Severus clutched his book tighter and kicked at the petals littering the floor as he took his seat at the Slytherin table. Even his housemates, who normally sported gloomy and irritated exteriors, all seemed to have caught the general excitement in the air by the way they were watching Dumbledore’s podium as he waited behind it for silence.

“Students, as you may already know, it is time for one of the most affectionate Hogwarts traditions of the year. Whether you want to show your appreciation for old friends or new, now is the time to make an effort. Roses will be available to be picked up at any time this month from the High Table between meals so please, send your mushy warmhearted words to the people you care about most,” Dumbledore smiled.

He looked to his left and stepped back to let a familiar middle-aged wizard up to the podium next. The wizard looked out at the students and waved, “Hello students! I’m Dilyn Grisial as some of you may recognize me. Well, I’m here with everyone’s favorite crystal balls!”

Several students cheered and clapped at the announcement. Severus scoffed and opened his book back to the page he was on. He tried concentrating on the words, but the noise was too loud and Dilyn Grisial did nothing to calm the crowd.

Grisial chuckled, “All sixth and seventh years will have them handed out for free! I must remind students, however, not to get your hopes down if they do not work right away. I promise there is someone out there for everyone!”

“I can’t believe the ministry believed enough of this guy’s crap to buy dumb balls for us.” A Slytherin was saying.

Severus couldn’t agree more. The Daily Prophet made this ‘Mr. Grisial’ guy out to be some sort of miracle worker for match-making hundreds of wizards. _Those naive Ministry idiots_.

Severus rolled his eyes at the excitement going around the room. He watched the reactions of every table – except Gryffindor – as Grisial walked around the great hall handing them out.

After breakfast was over, he stood up and tried to leave the ball behind, but someone pointed out he was “forgetting” it and had to take it and shoved it in his robe pocket. That was fine however, he would just dump it in his trunk and ignore it. _Not like I’d be tempted_.

However, ignoring the crystal balls proved to be harder than he initially thought at the beginning of the month. All around people were sending and receiving messages through them. Even his dormmates had started bragging about the people they were talking to. Everyone seemed pleased with who they were getting paired up with, even if it was anonymous at first.

Once while studying at one of the desks in the Slytherin common room someone had gotten curious about his experience using the crystal ball.

“Hey, Snape. Are you talking to anyone?”

“Gotten yourself a soulmate yet?”

The word ‘soulmate’ had started to get thrown around everywhere. He knew that a large majority of the wizarding population thought the idea of such things were “for fools” much like the art of divination. Although… he could not deny there were several aspects of magic still unknown or unstudied and far less understood by the wizarding world as a whole.

He ignored the questions and made his way down to the courtyard to study. It was cold and windy and his trousers were barely long enough to cover his ankles. He ignored the sudden chill he got and sat down under a tree, pulling his robe tight around himself and opened his book back up, placing it in front of his legs.

He arched his back and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and continued reading. After a few minutes his hair had fallen from his shoulders to hang down around the book like a black curtain blocking out the sun’s light. He ignored it and moved his right arm up to support his head, resting his other hand in his lap for warmth.

“Not too enthusiastic about my crystals are you?”

Severus looked up to see Dilyn Grisial a few feet from him. The man had been visiting Hogwarts throughout the month to answer questions regarding the balls or to help students figure them out. He frowned and closed his book.

“No. Can’t say that I am.”

He smiled, “What year are you in? Seventh year?”

“Sixth.”

“Well you should have a go at it. You’ve got what’s left of this year and all of next to meet your ‘chosen one’ or ‘soulmate’ – whatever you kids are calling it these days.”

Severus rolled his eyes at him and walked away but that night he stayed awake in bed. At this point, two and a half weeks after they received the crystals, almost every sixth and seventh year were paired up. His bed neighbor had just gotten back from a date with the mystery girl he had been talking to. Everyone had stayed up to hear how it went and he again used the word ‘soulmate’ to describe how perfect she was.

 _Could there be someone out there for me?_ Severus shifted the covers and pulled them up to his chin. The idea of a girl not being repulsed by him within the castle’s walls seemed unlikely. The school called him Snivellus for a reason. Made fun of his nose for a reason. _An absurd and barbaric reason_ , he frowned.

He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep, but within minutes they were open again, looking over to the trunk he had stashed the ball in. He sat up and crawled over to the end of his bed and opened his trunk. His arms were long enough to reach and he felt around the bottom of the trunk.

His fingers touched a cold and smooth surface and grasped the round object. He held it close and moved back. He pulled the curtains around his fourposter and sealed himself in with enough privacy and courage to mess around with the cursed thing.

He moved it from hand to hand, not knowing how to start. _What had he said to do? Talk with it?_ He looked around – though it wasn’t like anyone could see him inside – and brought the ball up to his mouth. He licked his lips and whispered:

“Hello?”

 _Stupid! What a stupid first thing to say_ … The ball glowed blue for a few seconds and warmed his hand up, and then stopped. It became as cold as before and grey; the mist inside stopped swirling. He waited for a few minutes and tried again:

“Are you there?”

It did the same thing as before. He set it down and tapped the glass, not knowing if he was doing it right. He placed it under his pillow and went to sleep, hoping it did something in the morning.

The next day he carried it around in his bag and checked it between classes and every fifteen minutes during break, but it was always the same. _I’ll try again tonight_.

And he did, along with the night after, and the one after that. He tried every night of March, and every week of April, randomly throughout May, and once during June. But over the summer it stayed in his trunk, forgotten, even during the times he needed someone to talk to the most.

Term began and he never thought of it once until February rolled around and Dilyn Grisial was back, once again. He handed them out to every sixth year and promised everyone they’d be paired with their perfect match with the crystal balls.

That day he found himself staring into the third-floor bathroom mirror, inspecting his dark eyes, his large nose, his greasy hair, his thin lips. Everything. He hated it all. He sighed and hung his head over the sink, turning it on and cupping his hands over the cold water. He splashed his face and wiped with the sleeve of his robe.

He straightened his back and felt the pocket with a peculiar round object weighing it down. He had brought the crystal ball with him today, not really knowing why. He looked around and slid it out. It was grey and the mist inside was as still as the day he got it.

“Please talk to me,” he whispered into it.

The familiar glow started and the mist swirled for a second and stopped. He wondered if the person receiving his messages knew it was him. Did they know better than to talk to him? _To Snivellus_.

“Got yourself a girlfriend, Snape?”

Severus turned quickly, shoving the ball in his robe. Two fourth year looking boys from another house were standing by the bathroom door, pointing at him.

“No, see. It’s not glowing. Snivellus has got no one!”

He shoved past them and exited the bathroom, ignoring their laughter. He sunk into the shadows of the dungeon and ran to the Slytherin common room. He bounded into his room and threw open his trunk, dropping the crystal ball inside and locking it shut.

…

Four years later Severus found himself sitting next to Dilyn Grisial at the High Table once again. This was his second year teaching potions and the second year having to drink pink tinted soup next to him. Severus ignored him like he ignored the stares from several students who recognized him and couldn’t believe he had been hired as a professor.

Grisial had just given his speech about his crystal balls and the power they had to connect anyone with their perfect partner. Severus finished his soup and walked down the Great Hall, ignoring the rare stares he still got from students.

He paced his office floor, thinking about the crystal balls – and more specifically, his. More and more of his old classmates were having their wedding announcements shown in the Daily Prophet, all claiming to have found their partners thanks to Grisial’s crystals.

He opened the back door of his office and stepped into his personal chambers. He walked over to the wardrobe behind the bed and pulled down his trunk, it rattled as it tilted. He placed it on his bed and opened the lid slowly. His old crystal ball was still in there. He moved it out of the bedroom and placed it on his desk.

 _What am I doing with this thing?_ He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. It was ridiculous to think he would find his own “soulmate” within that thing. He tossed it onto a chair and turned to his papers.

He saw it glow for just a second. He stood up, walked over to it slowly, and picked up the cold ball. It glowed again, bright blue this time, and the mist swirled in all directions.

His breath hitched and he sat down quickly, almost missing his chair. He placed the ball on his desk and wiped the dust off the crystal. He held it firmly with both hands, waiting for the messages to appear to him.

The first ones that showed were the ones he had sent, spelled out in the mist.

“Hello?”

“Are you there?”

“Please talk to me…”

He wiped his eyes and bent over, his nose almost touching the crystal.

_“Hello.”_

_“Hello?”_

_“Are_ you _there?”_

He pulled his hair behind his ears and rotated the ball to keep reading.

_“It’s quite silly to ask me to talk to you if you don’t respond.”_

_“Do you enjoy just watching me glow?”_

_“It’d be more fun if you picked me up and responded…”_

_“Have you dropped me? Is that it? Got yourself a cracked crystal and had it stop working?”_

_“If you have, please let me know somehow. I’m quite clumsy and I need to know how fragile this thing is.”_

_“You know, I’m starting to feel a bit unhinged lugging this thing around in my bag just to check if you’ve responded.”_

_“Must look mental talking to a glass ball outside of Hogwarts… I think that old witch is judging me right now.”_

_“Oh! Thought I lost you. Sorry I shoved you in there for so long but it’s not like I’ve got any messages anyways…”_

_“Hello again though, in case you_ are _there.”_

He re-read all the messages, realizing the last two must be from within the past few minutes. _She must have been two years behind me!_ Only sixth and seventh years received the crystals and after he had thrown it in his trunk he never picked it back up again.

The crystal glowed bright blue again and he read the message instantly.

_“Think you’ll respond this year?”_

Severus lifted the ball and licked his dry lips. His breath was shaky and he opened his mouth, trying to think of something.

“Hello…”

The ball glowed and died out like it had when he sent the first few messages.

_“Hello!”_

The ball glowed instantly, startling him. He gripped the ball tighter, afraid to drop it like she had suggested.

_“Why have you decided to respond now? Not that I mind!”_

“I… I hadn’t looked at it in a while… I hadn’t realized you had responded… Sorry.”

_“It’s alright. I was just worried about you is all. Kind of concerning, receiving your messages and then never hearing from you again.”_

Severus reread the messages and sighed. He felt like it was too good to be true. Was this person he was talking to really someone who would like him? Someone _meant_ for him?

_“I’m glad you responded… Let’s talk. It’s nice to make new friends.”_

He stared at the last two words. A ‘ _new friend_ ’. _Haven’t had a real one in – …Someone to talk to would be nice. As long as they don’t realize it’s me they’re talking to._

“I’m not sure what to say. I don’t know what to talk about…” 

_“Start with your name.”_

Severus sighed and let his head drop to the desk. It was over. The second he says his name she’ll send him a message saying how disappointed she is to be paired with him and smash their crystal ball. He closed his eyes and decided he’d deal with it all the next day. 

He went and placed it by his nightstand and left to get on with his day of grading papers and giving lessons. He thought about the crystal ball all day but couldn’t even bring himself to look at it before bed. He faced away from the crystal and forced himself to sleep. 

… 

Severus opened his eyes and rubbed at them. He turned his head and immediately sat to pick up the ball, remembering that someone had finally replied. His heart started beating as he reread every message she had sent. He felt excited and nervous, mouthing her words to himself. His eyes read the last message over and over. _I can’t tell her my name._

_“You’re doing it again.”_

He blinked, slightly startled by the new message. He decided he had to be honest with her, even if it meant she’d stop talking to him and left him alone for good. 

“You wouldn’t like me if you knew who I was… If I were you, I’d stop talking to me.” 

He closed his eyes and laid down on his bed. His throat felt like closing and his eyes burned as tears formed and dripped down his cheek. _What am I doing? Stop crying._ He wiped the tears away and gasped, wanting the horrible feeling in his heart to go away. He gripped the crystal ball tight, not caring if the glass eventually shattered, and felt it get warm for a few seconds. 

He turned his head and swiped the ball, watching as it glowed and the mist swirled into words. He brought it up close to his face and read what she had said. 

_“I like you already.”_

He laughed, not sure if it was from the relief he felt, or from the absurdity of her statement. 

“We’ve barely been talking. How could possibly know you like me?” 

_“Because I smile every time you reply.”_

He thought about her words for several minutes. His replies were making her smile? His words made her smile? _She’s smiling because of me?_

“Really?” 

_“Really. Let’s get to know each other. I’ll start. Do you play Quidditch?”_

“No.” 

_“Have you played it ever?”_

“No.” 

_“Do you like it?”_

“I know how it’s played and I know most of the rules.” 

_“Do you like riding brooms?”_

“No.” 

He frowned. He was already letting her down. He could only imagine her disappointment after every response. She probably thought he was boring. 

_“What hobbies do you have?”_

“I don’t have any… I brew necessary potions once a month though.” 

_“What do you like to do?”_

“I like to read…” 

Her responses were taking longer to get to him. 

“Are you still smiling?” 

_“Yes. I can’t help it still. And don’t worry about all the ‘No’ answers. I still like you.”_

A smile pulled on the edge of his mouth, making him wipe his arm over it as if to smear it away. He decided to warn her one last time, and then let fate handle the rest. 

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you had known me in school… No one liked me then, I’m not sure if even my friends really liked me.” 

His voice broke as he spoke to the crystal. He pinched the corner of his eyes and sniffed, ignoring his own reaction to those words. 

_“It’d be hard not to like my soulmate.”_

_“Do you know a Gilderoy Lockhart?”_

His soaring heart dropped. He sat up slowly and stared at that name. _Gilderoy Lockhart… My student?_

“Yes…” 

_“Yesterday Gilderoy tried convincing me that he was the one replying to me. I knew he was lying of course. I know you’re not a loser like Gilderoy.”_

He found he had placed his hand over his mouth in shock. It was true he definitely didn’t consider himself to be a ‘loser’ like Gilderoy Lockhart… but what was pressing on his mind the most was the word ‘yesterday’. _She goes to Hogwarts? Is she a student? Is she MY student? Do we know each other?? This can’t be happening._ He ran his hands through his hair and looked around, trying to find a solution or answers to what was happening. He was twenty-two, which meant she must be at least four years younger. 

“How old are you?” 

_“What a strange response to my story.”_

“Answer. Please.” 

_“It was my birthday December. I’m 18. Graduating in a few months… Which means if you wanted to meet, we should now. Before I have to go home.”_

His hand had moved up his face to cover everything but one eye as he read her words. She was indeed his student, maybe not directly if she didn’t take potions… But he couldn’t ask her. He couldn’t continue this. 

“We can’t meet.” 

_“Why?”_

He couldn’t tell her he was a teacher here. He didn’t even know if she suspected he was older than her, not even a student anymore. 

“It’s best we stop talking. I’m sorry.” 

He picked up his wand and accio-ed his trunk to him, placing the ball inside and shutting it. He stood up and pulled his nightshirt over his head and slid into his clothes, ignoring the feelings bubbling up inside him. He slid button after button through their holes absentmindedly, letting the constant motions calm him. He started buttoning his sleeves when he felt a single tear land on his exposed wrist. 

_My soulmate_ … The words echoed in his head. He closed his hands into fists and felt his shoulders shake. He closed his eyes and bit his lip in anger. _Life never ceases to be cruel._ He kicked the bed suddenly, hearing it scrape against the stone. He kicked it over and over again until the foot of it was pressed against the corner of the wardrobe. He took his wand and let his anger cast a spell that shot out of the wand in a blinding light and punch a hole through the footboard. 

The rest of the day he spent battling his rage. He snapped at students and yelled at several running down the corridors. He didn’t care if she was possibly in his NEWT classes, he let himself act on his pain and loneliness until by the end of the day when he was tired out and ready to sleep. 

He didn’t even bother shifting the bed back. He pulled his nightshirt on and forced all thoughts out of his head and slept. 

Two days went by without thinking of anything other than papers he needed to grade and exams he needed to make. He picked up a slice of toast and buttered it, taking a large bite. He was about to reach for his goblet when a Hogwarts owl landed on his arm with a small envelope in its beak. 

He glanced around at the other teachers but no one was looking at him all the way at the end of the High Table. He took the envelope and shook his arm, forcing the owl to fly off. It was handmade, it seemed like, from spare parchment paper folded to resemble a normal envelope. 

He tore it open from the side and looked in. There was only a small piece of paper. He slid his fingers inside and pulled it out, flipping it over. It was a cut out photograph of just him from a picture he had been in for a school event his seventh year. There were three red hearts drawn above and to each side of his face that were charmed to float up and down. 

He shoved the picture in his pocket quickly and rushed out of the Great Hall. He entered his office and locked the door behind him, doing the same with his bedroom door. He took out the crystal and swiped it. 

“Did you send me the picture?” 

His heart was beating so fast it was all he could hear. 

_“Yes. I did.”_

He took out the paper and traced over the little red hearts around his face as he took deep breaths. 

“Then by this time you must realize that I am a professor and you are a student and we cannot communicate any further.” 

An agonizing minute passed. All he wanted was for all of this to be some awful mistake so he could be with her immediately. He desperately pleaded for her to say she wasn’t a student, she just knew Lockhart some other way. _Maybe she worked at Hogsmeade. Anything._

_“I can’t help it Severus. I want us to keep talking. We’re soulmates. That means we’re meant for each other. I’m yours and I want you to be mine.”_

That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear but… Those words… _I’m yours… I’m yours. She’s mine? She wants me to be hers_ … Those words were really what he wanted to hear… _But she really is a student_ … He picked up the ball and placed it back into the trunk for the last time. He was slow at putting the trunk back on top of the wardrobe, her words playing in his head over and over. 

… 

It was early and he was in a meeting in the staffroom with all the other professors going over letters from the Ministry. Dumbledore had ended the meeting early to allow for any professors to catch the Hogwarts Express back to London along with all the students. 

He exited the room and looked out towards the entrance hall where the loud crowd of students could be heard, yelling and screaming, excited and sad to be going home. He straightened his cloak and walked up the stairs to collect some jars from one of the charms classrooms. 

He quickly spotted them and walked over, gathering them all up in a box left for him by Professor Flitwick. The jars clinked as he placed them inside, not caring to organize them too well. 

“Severus?” 

He turned on his heels ready to yell at whatever student had just called him by his first name, “Has anyone ever taught you how to address your professors? I don’t care if you knew me before I became one.” 

The girl he was yelling at smiled, “Hmm, you didn’t seem to mind when I said it over the crystal ball.” 

He blinked at her. She was walking closer with her hands behind her back and smiling at him still. She stood in front of him and he could smell her sweet shampoo. She looked up into his eyes and as much as he wanted to look away, he couldn’t. Her lips were glossy and he imagined her running her tongue over them before she had spoken his name. Her smiled reached her eyes and he found it incredibly hard to maintain his composure. 

“I’ve brought you something, before I leave,” she showed him a rose with a note tied to the stem just above the leaf. 

She handed it to him and placed her hands on his shoulder, leaned forward and pressed her soft lips on his cheek. He felt his face heat up and wanted to both run away to hide and press his body against hers but stood as still as possible as she stepped back. 

“You should send me a letter. And it better be you asking me out on a date,” she winked, sending a chill down his spine. “I’ll be waiting for your owl.” 

Severus wanted to speak, to say anything, but instead watched her walk out of the classroom, letting the door shut behind her. He looked down at the rose, making sure it was real and it was still in his hands. He picked up the note and flipped it over. 

“‘All yours’,” he read, smiling. She had written her name after that. 

He pulled the note off the flower and slid it into his pocket with the picture she had sent him with the hearts. He was now able to write to her and would the second he got home. 

# ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

Request: “So I was watching TikToks soulmates AU and they where cute and I was hoping you did like a Snape x reader one where he think he never gonna find his soulmate because he never got the signs but to find out his soulmate is a student. Like growing up he saw everyone get those messages of there soulmates but he never did until the reader turned 16-18 and he finally noticed. Like the reader wasn’t too far behind him in his years in school.” 


End file.
